DaggerCon 2026
The deets
Where: Atlanta, GA
When: March
Table Cost: $99 (plus taxes)
Attendance: anticipated 800-1000, estimated 300
The venue
This is the first time we’ve tabled at this event, and the event’s official first year at the Renaissance Midtown Hotel. This venue made the event quite difficult. We heard that there was a last minute change that resulted in the hall all the vendors were supposed to share being split and vendors being moved to smaller spaces and into the surrounding halls. Some vendors were on the ground floor in a room that locks, others were in the open hallway, and the rest were up on the 5th floor of the hotel. Vendors who were up on the 5th floor mentioned struggling to make sales across both days even though the 5th floor was where the panels and programming was happening.
The venue also flip-flopped on its parking prices, leaving vendors to find parking further away. More than one vendor mistakenly had their vehicles booted at these other parking areas.
We also heard after the fact that many vendors with food sensitivities became sick after eating the venue’s food. It’s possible there was cross contamination.
The venue did not provide enough tables for the number of vendors, which left the volunteers and staff rushing to find additional tables. The venue also did not supply the event with a working projector for panels which was something that had been promised. We’re under the impression that this hotel does not often host conventions and was not prepared for one even though this is a smaller convention.
The market
This was a mixed market, and unfortunately we were not grouped in any specific way. We were fortunate to be on the ground floor, but we were in the same area as sponsors for the event which was a strange choice. The other artist who made art for the event was also not near us even though we also made art for the event. One vendor had bought 10 tables worth of space, and unfortunately the booths did not end up having pipe and drapes as originally promised due to the rental falling through.
The audience
It’s hard to speak about the audience for this event as the attendance was very very low. The event estimated they would have 800-1000 attendees, however we estimate it to be much smaller. We were unable to get exact numbers from the event organizers, but they did express disappointment that their estimates were so far off. There was a St. Patrick’s day parade on Saturday which did make parking and accessing the venue harder, and while there were cosplayers participating, many of them said they were not going to check out the event.
The sales
We made just under 2.5x our table expense with being just shy of breaking even on our table at the end of the day Friday. We had a total of 16 sales with an average purchase of $17.56. We were really surprised that we had as many sales on Friday as we did on Saturday, as we were expecting attendance to be much better on Saturday. We were very lucky though, many other artists, vendors, and sponsors either broke even or didn’t make their table costs back.
For this 2-day event our total time investment was 24 hours of active vending and 4 hours of combined set-up and break-down time (total of 28 hours). We had anticipated that our table would be in the ballroom which was locked overnight, but we were placed in the hallway outside the ballroom where we did see many people throughout the weekend having access regardless of if the vendor hall was open yet or if they had an attendee badge. That said, they did have security in the hallway overnight and we did not hear of anyone having anything taken.
Items that sold the best were prints - we had multiple small and large print sales with our new Calvin and Hobbes print being pretty popular - and stickers. Purchases were predominately made using card instead of cash.
The rest
This event was honestly a bit of a mess, and we knew that going into it. There had been a lot of red flags leading up to the event (a guest being removed, a feature artist ghosting, pushing of sponsor packages on vendors, wildly shifting price points and last minute changes, roles switching around behind the scenes), but lots of vendors and sponsors said they were willing to look past that for the event’s mission.
Unfortunately, the event was a too ambitious and had unrealistic expectations for a first year event. Sponsors didn’t get to meet the event owner, lots of vendors left the event not knowing anything about the woman the event was a memorial for, one vendor should have been kicked out for selling things against the show rules and being disrespectful to staff and volunteers but wasn’t, a sponsor was made to feel unwelcome and disrespected by some volunteers, and many other promises were left unfulfilled.
While there were many things that happened that were not in their control, there are too many things that could have been mitigated or carried out with more care that just weren’t. Due to everything that happened prior to, during, and after the event, we cannot recommend vending at this event.
Pros
Table cost included an 6’ table, and 2 chairs
Big focus on inclusivity, accessibility, and safety (though experiences with this varied)
Great networking with other vendors
Lots of nearby food options
Bathrooms were large and clean
Cons
Low attendance
Low sales
Parking was a pain
Long vending hours
Missing programs, banners, and signage
Confusing layout/venue